Wandering Jew Plant Tradescantia: Types, Growing and Caring Guides

Wandering Jew Plant is one of the most popular indoor plants that people like to grow. These plants grow really fast without taking care of them much. People hang these wandering jew plants in front of their windows, where they receive bring indirect sunlight. This wandering jew plant is perfect for both outdoors and indoors. One can easily grow this vining plant at home. If you wish to grow this plant for your garden, you have come up in the right place.

Here, you will know all about wandering jew plants. We will make things easier for you while telling you about how to care of these plants and how you can grow them yourself. Before that, you need to know what a wandering jew plant is. So, let’s get started without further delay!

What Is a Wandering Jew Plant?

Wandering Jew Plant is not just one plant but an umbrella term for all plants that fall under the genus Tradescantias. These plants come in different shapes and colors. Plants like Tradescantia Pallida and Tradescantia Zebrina belong to the same category, Wandering Jew. This Wandering Jew family even includes The Purple Queen, the Tricolor Boat Lily, The Purple Heart, the Boat Lily, and The Green or Purple Wandering.

As the Wandering Jew Plant name suggests, it wanders anywhere without arrangement. It gives an impression that leaves are wandering here and there while zigzagging all over the place. This wandering jew plant is invasive as it grows anywhere and even overtakes other plants in no time.

The only characteristic of wandering jew plant is that its limbs have joints intimately. This allows a stem to grow in a different direction from the previous ones. On the other hand, its roots sprout after every joint all around leaves, which makes it to take over whatever comes in contact with it. Hence, wandering jew plants pull them all the way up effortlessly.

If you are thinking of growing a wandering jew plant in a small garden, you need to keep a check on it every now and then. If not, it will grow an inch or more within a week and become overrun within a span of a shorter period. However, wandering jew plants are really awesome and beautiful plants to grow around. These plants add beauty and colors to any garden or home without much effort.

Different Types of Wandering Jew Plants - Tradescantia Varieties

Wandering Jew is a term that denotes different species in the genus Tradescantia. There are three different kinds of wandering jew plants, which are listed as follows:

1. Tradescantia Fluminensis

The classic kind of wandering jew plants is Tradescantia Fluminensis. This plant species belongs to South America. Its leaves are oblong to ovate. This species has dark-green colored leaves that go perfectly with the bright and white flowers of three leaves.

2. Tradescantia Zebrina

This variety of wandering jew plants got its name after its leaves, which look like zebra. Here, the middle part of the leaves is of creamy white color while outer edges have silver tints. The flowers of this species are of light purple. Tradescantia Zebrina is native to Mexico.

3. Tradescantia Pallida

This kind of wandering jew plants is quite unique. It is so because the foliage of these species has a dark purple color to them with light purple flowers. Its leaves are oblong, ciliate, clasping, and sheaths. This plant species also belongs to Mexico. When it comes to popularity, Tradescantia Pallida is the most admired one out of all wandering jew plants.

How To Grow A Wandering Jew Plant?

As stated earlier, wandering jew plants grow quickly as compared to other plants. One can grow these plants indoors and even outdoors with USDA zones 9 to 11. You can grow a wandering jew plant in different ways, which include the following.

Cutting

One can easily grow wandering jew plants through cuttings or slips. You can take these cuttings from a mature and healthy plant. In order to cut stems, always use sharp and clean scissors. You need to cut the stem below a node, where a leaf or bud is about to grow. At this very point, roots develop through the propagation process. Just take a piece of about 4-6 inches for this.

Propagating in Water

Another method to grow wandering jew plants is propagating them in water. This conventional method works well for wandering jew plants. You need to submerge the stem’s lower part in lukewarm water. Keep this container in a place with indirect sunlight. After a few weeks, roots will start to grow. Once roots reached a certain height, you can repot the plant.

Propagating in Soil

This method is quite apprehensive than the previous one. Here, you need to place the stem’s lower end in damped potting mixture. To speed up the process, you can dip the cutting’s end into rooting hormone. After you have planted the cutting into a pot, cover it with a plastic bag. You do not have to water for weeks as the plastic bag will keep the atmosphere moist. Remove the bag after new roots appear in a month. Check out this video to know more!

After Rooting

Wandering jew plants can be bought with roots. These plants thrive in bright to moderate light with temperatures between 55- 75 degrees Fahrenheit. You have to water the plant profoundly when the topmost soil looks here. Drain the excess water otherwise, the plant will rot. Use fertilizers to feed the plant each month and increase the feeding frequency to each week during summers and springs.

How To Take Care Of A Wandering Jew Plant?

Although it is pretty easy to perform Wandering Jew Plant care, growers need to offer them good light and prune often. So, look for some factors below to enjoy your wandering jew forever.

Light

A wandering jew plant bloom in bright and indirect sunlight. Your plant will produce more flowers on receiving the brighter light. If the light is not enough, its foliage will start to fade away. So, you need to provide them with vivid light. However, do not expose them to direct sunlight.

Water

When it comes to water, it has to be evenly distributed. You do not need to soak these plants completely in water while not letting them dry at the same time. Growers have to water them when the soil becomes dry up to halfan inch deep. Do not overwater the plant and drain the pot if excess.

Soil

To grow Wandering Jew Plants, you can make use of a standard potting mix. You can even opt for a more organic one for the better growth of plants. In order to make the soil mix yourself, you need to add coarse sand (or Perlite), humus (or peat), lime dusting, garden soil, and organic compost in equal amounts.

Fertilizer

Make use of a water-soluble fertilizer two times every month when roots are new. You need to dilute the solution by 50% to evade the foliage’s nutrient burn. One can even go with a slow-release fertilizer.

Repotting

If you have bought an attractive wandering jew plant, you need to repot it. After a while, it will outgrow the small pot and hence, you have to replace it with a new bigger pot. In the case, your wandering jew plant begins to feel a bit cramped in the small pot, you need to go for a big pot with 1-2 inches wide mouth. For this, add fresh potting soil around the edges of the pot.

To repot your plant, remove the plant from its current pot. After that, set the root ball in the new pot. Remove or add soil to adjust the plant accordingly. Now, fill up to 2 inches below the rim of the pot. Tamp down the soil with light hands to place the plant in a firm position.

Pruning

Wandering jew plants need to be pruned at regular intervals as these plants grow very quickly. In order to maintain their appearance, prune them regularly. For this, just trim their stems and stem tips. It will allow the plant to grow two shoots beneath the strained area. So, your plant will emerge out as bushier.

Propagation

Do not waste stem cuttings of your wandering jew plant ever. You can propagate a wandering jew plant from these stem cuttings. This propagation method makes it best to grow more wandering jew plants for your garden.

Is Wandering Jew Plant Safe for Cats and Other Pets?

If you have pets such as cats or dogs, you have to say goodbye to indoor wandering jew plants. As per The Nest, wandering jew plants can irritate the digestive system of cats if they consume stems. Although wandering jew plants are non-toxic to animals, cats can suffer upset stomachs on consuming too much of this plant. However, there is no such problem with the leaves. As these plants have leaves with colors such as purple, white, silver, and green, it is hard for cats to resist playing with them. So, we suggest you to keep these plants in a secure place.

If not, your cats or dogs can get sick if they ingest leaves. So, it is best to keep these plants in your garden or at a certain distance where your pets cannot reach. You can hang them onto windows for a good option.

Problems Related To Growing A Wandering Jew Plant

With Wandering Jew Plants, you do not have to face many problems if properly taken care of. Look below for some problems related to growing wandering jew plants!

Pests

Spider mites are one of the most common pests that you need to deal with while growing wandering jew plants. These mites like warm and dry areas. In order to cope with this, you need to mist your plant often and keep the humidity high. On having serious infestations, remove the infested areas.

Diseases

Diseases in a wandering jew plant could be due to overwatering the plant. In houseplants, you can face problems like root rot. It happens due to two reasons; one is over watering while the other one is the water retention through the soil.

You can easily resolve these issues. In the first case, water your plant less often and for the second one, add coarse mix or perlite to the soil mixture. Adding rocks at the bottom can also improve the drainage system.

Allergy

Wandering jew plants could result in allergies in cats, dogs, and even humans. You can experience skin irritation on coming in contact with the plant sap. So, it is better to grow this plant in a place where your pets cannot reach. Hanging baskets are the best option here!

Falling Leaves

Falling leaves are common with plants but if you encounter falling leaves before they should usually, it is a problem. It happens when you do not water the plant adequately. So, water your plant accordingly.

Variegation Lose

On applying too much of the fertilizer, the leaves of the plant can lose variegation. If not that, you need to keep your plants in more sunlight. After a while, leaves will be back to their normal variegation.

How To Use The Wandering Jew Plant To Beautify Your Home?

Wandering jew plants are best to beautify your place. These plants complement both outdoor and indoor décor beautifully. You can grow these plants in a large pot, flowerbed, and perfectly in hanging baskets. These purple and green plants will make your space even more beautiful.

In addition to that, you can make use of vines of these wandering plants perfectly. You can decorate any object by wrapping the vines all around it. For this, choose a solid material and attach the stem to it using a string. After a while, you will be stunned by the beautiful aesthetic.

Conclusion

It does not take much to grow and care for wandering jew plants. It can be a rewarding experience for you if you go through all the instructions mentioned in this article. The only thing that you have to keep in mind is that not to grow a wandering jew plant in a mixed pot or smaller garden bed due to its pervasive nature. On the other hand, this plant will overshadow all the other plants.

So, keep all these things in mind while you opt for growing a wandering jew plant. This plant is really easy to grow and take care of. One can even gift these beautiful plants to friends and family members due to its low maintenance and great look. Now, all you need to do is to propagate this plant and wait for it to thrive beautifully.

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